Investigation Approaches

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Investigation Methods

Analyst methods:

Questionnaires given to a large number of users.

Formal interviews with key personnel.

Observing users that use the current system.

Analysing data to see how it is created and how the system processes it.

Analysts need plans to show management. Management sign the plan to allow the analyst to gather data. It is important that they agree to the plan, as information gathering can be disruptive, and may not be acceptable in critical times of the month. For example, information gathering of a broadband company may not be suitable if they are dealing with downed networks.

The analyst will be limited in the time available:

Personnel may not always be present. They may be out of the country or assigned to another project, making it difficult for the analyst to retrieve information.

Identifying the right people who need to be involved. Without pre-existing knowledge of the system it can be difficult to pinpoint the right people.

Limitations of customer/employee data. Because of the DPA it may not be possible for all data to be accessed legally.